| | |  | Last Updated: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 |  | | | Taxes from Gambling Online Could be Worth Billions
- Wednesday, 19 Jul 2006
It is a well-known fact that the US Congress and government continue to make gambling online an illegal activity. Although there are constant debates within this entity between those who support and those who denounce gambling on the Internet, the fact remains, as well as the law, that gambling online is an illegal act. But what if it were legal – and what if the US could tax this industry and profit from it? With horse tracks and online lotteries full to the brim every day with gamblers, many would think that the government would want to support this gambling form, and tap into the many revenues it could receive by taxing it.
The recent bill, which was passed this week by the US House of Representatives, evoked a response from the international Poker Players Alliance. In a newsletter to its 25,000 members, it urged Congress to regulate and tax online poker rather than ban it. The House seemed concerned with only one thing: passing the measure. This could be because of the previously defeated attempt, which took place with the help of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff working for his corporate gambling interests. The US Senate does not seem to be giving this subject much thought, which might help the gambling cause. But even that is a speculation at best.
Legislation would, in effect, would bar gambling on the Internet and the use of electronic payments for bets using personal credit cards. A better approach Congress could take is to legalize and tax gambling online, allowing gambling fans to play and money to enter the country in revenue rather than leaving it to go to the foreign operators running this gambling sites online. That could bring in an estimated $3.3 billion a year! If the US would legalize gambling on the Internet, as Britain recently did, the states are predicted to benefit with over a $1 billion a year. With all of these elements attached to the fight for legalized online casinos, only time will tell how Congress will vote regarding the next bill proposed to keep gambling illegal in the US.
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